"He had stopped smoking before and had occasionally needed oxygen, but now specialists put him on a steady regimen of oxygen, antibiotics, steroids, and other medicines. For stretches the steroids would help, but they also damaged his immune system, and after a near fatal bout of pneumonia, he resisted taking them. He couldn't trust the doctors. He couldn't travel. He couldn't leave his house, except for short periods of time. Friends had to come to him. He needed oxygen all the time. On waking, he spent hours just clearing his clogged lungs. Jan, his wife, was loving always, and together they took the challenge of his disease and fought it, hoping to find a way of slowing its progress and keeping quality of life."